Living beings are part of nature.
Nature is a notion that allows us to refer to the phenomena that are part of the physical universe and everything linked to living organisms . The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) recognizes eighteen meanings of the word, which shows its breadth of meanings.
Nature can refer to that which characterizes a being . For example: "It is in the nature of several animals to eat their own children," "They will never stop behaving like this, rebellion is part of their nature."
human nature
Thus, there is the concept of human nature . What it tries to express is that any man or woman has a series of characteristics that are inherent to all human beings and that are inevitably related to their ways of thinking, acting and even feeling.
This is a field that has given rise to many scholars, thinkers and philosophers throughout history who have reflected on this term. This would be the case, for example, of figures of the stature of the German intellectual Karl Marx, the philosopher Georg Wilhem Friedrich Hegel or the philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche .
The qualities and virtues of objects are also included within the concept of nature: "This piece of furniture is noble and solid in nature."
It is often said that nature is made up of that which was not manufactured by humans.
What is not created by man
The most common use of the notion, in any case, is associated with that which forms the earthly world and that has not been created by man : "We have to protect nature" , "Mining is an activity that damages the nature of irreparable way .
The term, therefore, usually refers to all living beings (including humans, animals and plants) and to phenomena that arise without human intervention (such as wind or snow).
The Earth , in this sense, is the home of nature. When ecology points out the importance of protecting nature, it is asking for the conservation of living beings and the ecosystems that make up the planet.
Destruction of nature
If an industry pollutes water and land, it will be said to be damaging nature. The defense of ecology , therefore, will consider abandoning said industrial activity or, at least, looking for other ways to carry it out.
In this sense, it is important to emphasize that the deterioration that is occurring due to various causes of the environmental environment that surrounds us is what is leading to the development of various projects and initiatives with the clear objective of raising awareness among the population of the importance of conserving the nature. And our own well-being, our quality of life, depends on it.
Thus, for example, there are groups that fight daily to protect it, such as Greenpeace . This is an environmental NGO that has been working to protect the environment since 1971 . Hence, it carries out initiatives to stop so-called climate change, eliminate the use of nuclear energy or protect biodiversity.
wildlife photography
Photography is an art that helps us understand nature and raises awareness about the need to protect biological diversity. Colombian Memo Gómez is one of the photographers who is dedicated to photographing wildlife and seeks to raise awareness about its preservation.
Trained at the New York Institute of Photography , he has published the book “Nature and Astonishment” and serves as an ambassador for WWF Colombia , Sony Alpha and Vanguard Photo Global . His images captivate thousands of followers on X and Instagram , where he can be found as @MemoGomezfoto .
Considering his extensive experience, we asked Memo what lessons or teachings nature has given him when observing it through his lens:
That we underestimate the intelligence of the species. That they are more important to our lives than we suspect. That we cannot learn morals from animals as some claim. That environmental balance definitely depends on some controlling others through predation: it is the natural cycle and we should not intervene. That we have to talk without fear of the environmental damage we do with the volume and handling of pets, you can't imagine what feral dogs and cats do in nature and the billions of birds that domestic cats kill when they leave their homes every year.
Memo Gomez